Nvidia GeForce 3D Vision

Fun as three-dimensional games have been for the last decade or so, there's rarely been one that's as enjoyable as seeing a 3D movie in a theater with red-and-blue glasses. But with the release of GeForce 3D Vision, which Nvidia officially unveiled at this year's Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, 3D gaming is no longer a misnomer: Gone forever are the flat images that extend in every direction except the one directly toward your face. Now every game can literally pop out of the screen at you—as long as you have all the proper hardware.

The $199 3D Vision package comes with a pair of 3D goggles (fitted with stylish polarized lenses, not garishly colored film), an infrared emitter, and all the cables, software, and instructions you need to set everything up. The bundle only comes with one pair of goggles, but the IR emitter supports multiple sets.

Setup is simple, and it takes about five minutes: Install the software, plug in one USB cable for the IR emitter and another to charge the goggles (which work wirelessly), and step through a quick configuration process. Once that's done, just put on the goggles and start up a 3D game or a stereoscopic 3D video using Nvidia's included software, and you're off—provided you have the required GPU and monitor hardware.

For starters, you'll need a relatively recent-vintage Nvidia GPU. Just about every card released after the 8800 GTS and 8800 GTX (in late 2006) possesses the proper capabilities. The only catch, especially for hard-core gamers, is that three-way and Quad SLI setups won't work; you'll need to use only one or two GPUs. That means, for example, that if you've hooked up two dual-GPU cards, such as the GeForce GTX 295, you'll need to disconnect one. (According to Nvidia, support for three-way and Quad SLI will be added at a later date.)

Your display is another matter. A standard 60Hz or even 75Hz LCD, of any size, isn't sufficient. You'll need an LCD with a refresh rate of 120Hz (60Hz for each eye), which isn't exactly easy to locate. As of this writing, 3D Vision supports only the Samsung SyncMaster 2233RZ (which we used for our testing) and the ViewSonic FuHzion VX2265wm. If you still happen to have an analog CRT with a refresh rate of 100Hz or better, that will work, too, as will DLP HDTVs and special projectors such as the DepthQ HD 3D Projector. As you may have surmised by now, using 3D Vision can require a considerable commitment of dedication and quite possibly finances.

Is it worth it? If you really like being on the cutting edge of game playing, the answer is probably yes. The goggles create 3D effects without the red-and-blue film color distortion, so you see games with the palette their creators supplied. Beyond that, the quality of the 3D is astounding: The images "closest to you" are crystal clear, and there's only a tiny bit of degradation visible "further back," meaning you hardly have to compromise any of the intended visuals to get the upscaled, layered versions 3D Vision allows. And 3D Vision works with every 3D game, old or new.

We experimented with a combination of classic and current titles (Flight Simulator X, Far Cry 2, Lego Batman, and the just-released Mirror's Edge), and enjoyed distractingly strong results with all three. We never needed to tweak the image quality by adjusting the settings in the Nvidia Control panel, though we did occasionally need to use the thumbwheel on the back of the IR emitter to recalibrate image depth when switching between games. But for the most part, operation is easy enough that you can set it and forget it.

That's a good thing, because whenever we used 3D Vision, we found that we had become much more interested in the games, even if we had played them many times before; Nvidia has brought crackling new life to even well-worn titles. We wish all this were possible without requiring a potentially large outlay of cash for new and specialized hardware, but we've never seen "real" 3D anywhere quite as impressive as that we got with 3D Vision.

Price (at time of review): $199

author : Matthew Murray

Philips Ambx Premium Kit

When it comes to PC gaming, diehards will go to extremes for a more immersive experience. To help them feel every ripple in the “track,” for instance, racing-game fans will pair their rigs with massive, high-resolution monitors and wheels with force feedback. The $279 Philips Ambx Premium Kit, potentially one of the most immersive gaming accessories around, is aimed at these hardcore players.

The system includes a pair of small fans, a wrist rumbler, a wall-washer light, two satellite speakers (each with a light on top), and a subwoofer. The lights and fans are synchronized to the action via USB cable, and the audio signal itself comes from a single, standard PC speaker cable between the computer and the subwoofer. The wall-washer unit, designed to sit behind the PC, serves as the point of connectivity for the system’s speakers, fans, and power adapters. The package sets up much like a normal 2.1 speaker system—it took us about 15 minutes to put together.

To get an idea of how it works, we plugged it in and played Enemy Territory: Quake Wars. When we were flying, the fans kicked in, mimicking wind rushing by as we hurtled through the air. The lights matched the action, too: Flying scenes prompted a blue tint, and firing the Strogg rail gun made the lights glow the same red-orange hue as the gun’s plasma trail—and activated the wall washer, which turned the wall behind our PC the same shade. Through it all, the wrist rumbler vibrates much like an Xbox 360 controller would.

The biggest downside of the system is that there are too few Ambx-compatible games on the market. Fortunately, some newer titles, including Mass Effect, Far Cry 2, and the new racing game GRID are shipping with built-in Ambx support. (You have to download a custom mod for Quake Wars to enable the Ambx effects.) For titles that don’t support the system, you’ll have to do some programming with the included software. Late in 2008, Philips announced that a software developer's kit, scheduled for release in early 2009, would make Ambx compatible with even more titles.

Another nit: Not every driver that came on the accompanying CD worked with Windows Vista. The Ambx Web site offers Vista-compatible drivers for download, but we were disappointed they weren’t on the CD in the first place.

Finally, we could have done without the wrist rumbler. The vibration was too intense, and the system was too noisy, even at its lowest setting. We also thought the rumbler was too tall, which put our wrists at an uncomfortable angle to the keyboard.

Overall, the Philips Ambx system is a very interesting addition to a gaming PC, and it definitely helps you feel fully immersed in whatever game you’re playing. More and more top-tier titles are shipping with Ambx compatibility, and Philips offers several packages to fit different budgets. The starter kit with the satellite speakers and the wall washer sells for $149; the ProGamer kit includes the starter kit and the subwoofer; and for $79, you can get an extension kit that adds the wrist rumbler and twin fans. The Premium Kit, which we tested, has it all.

Price (at time of review): $279 (direct)

author : Shane McGlaun

AMD Phenom II X4 940 Black Edition

Socket Type: AMD Socket AM2+
Number of Cores: Four
Operating Frequency: 3GHz
Front-Side Bus: HyperTransport 3.0
L2 Cache: 2MB

Like the original AMD Phenom, the new 45-nanometer (nm) Phenom II CPU doesn't have the raw speed to dethrone Intel's fastest processor offerings. This inexpensive quad-core processor's performance is competitive in its price range, however, particularly when you consider the low costs of the supporting motherboards and DDR2 memory that it's teamed with. Best of all, the Phenom II doesn't have the heat, power consumption, and errata/performance issues that plagued the original Phenom at launch.

We tested the top-end Phenom II X4 940 Black Edition, a 3GHz CPU with an unlocked clock multiplier that sells for $275. At launch, AMD will also offer the Phenom II X4 920, a 2.8GHz chip with a locked multiplier selling for $235. Both chips fit in AMD's AM2+ socket and will work in existing motherboards, provided the manufacturers supply required BIOS upgrades. We tested using an upgraded MSI DKA790GX Platinum; the Gigabyte MA790GP-DS4H and Asus M3A78-T are also among the early boards to get the necessary BIOS upgrade.

The Phenom II is essentially an optimized version of the original Phenom, with the same basic architecture. The biggest difference is that the 758-million-transistor chip is now based on a smaller 45nm production process, compared to 65nm for the original Phenoms. This results in cooler, lower-power operation and enables both higher clock speeds and more overclocking headroom.

There are performance tweaks throughout the CPU that increase the instructions per cycle that the CPU can execute. All four cores are on a single die, and they share the CPU's built-in memory controller. Each core has 128K of L1 cache and 512K of L2 cache, and there's 6MB of shared L3 cache, up from 2MB of L3 cache for the original Phenom.

For the optimal experience, AMD recommends its "Dragon" platform, consisting of a Phenom II, a 790GX-powered motherboard, and a Radeon 4000-series GPU. With this setup, you can use AMD's Fusion for Gaming and AMD Overdrive utilities to either manually or automatically overclock both the Phenom II and the Radeon in order to maximize performance. With some multiplier and voltage tweaking in AMD Overdrive, we were able to run the Phenom II 940 at 3.6GHz, and determined tweakers could probably squeeze even faster speeds from the chip. With first-generation Phenoms, we were lucky if we could pull off even 10 percent overclocking.

The Phenom II 940 doesn't threaten Intel's new Core i7 CPUs or its even faster Core 2 Quad CPUs in the performance department. However, it's much more competitive than earlier Phenom chips. For instance, in our Sony Vegas MPEG2 rendering test, which utilizes all four cores at full capacity, the original Phenom X4 9850 took 4 minutes and 22 seconds to finish while the Phenom II X4 940 executed the same test in 3 minutes and 43 seconds—exactly the same amount of time it took to run the same test on a Core 2 Extreme QX9770 CPU paired with DDR3 memory. For comparison, Intel's low-end Core i7-920 processor finished the test in just 2 minutes and 50 seconds.

The QX9770 and Phenom II 940 trade victories in our other tests, while the Core i7 typically comes out on top. The Phenom II 940 took 3 minutes and 14 seconds to execute our Windows Media Encoder test; the QX9770 finished it in 2 minutes and 55 seconds, and the Core i7 took 2 minutes and 53 seconds. The Phenom II 940 finished our iTunes conversion test in 3 minutes and 12 seconds, a dramatic improvement over the 4 minutes and 53 seconds the Phenom 9850 needed. And the result was even a slight victory over the QX9770's 3 minutes and 37 seconds and the Core i7-920's 3 minutes and 17 seconds. In our Cinebench 10 test, the Phenom II 940's score of 9,797 was significantly behind the QX9770's 11,663 and the Core i7-920's 13,269.

In our Company of Heroes DirectX 10 test, the Phenom II system scored 56.2 frames per second (fps) using anATI Radeon HD 4870 GPU, just 1.4fps slower than the same card on a Core 2 Extreme QX9770 system. Most modern games are more reliant on graphics card performance than CPU power, and the Phenom II is fast enough that its performance won't be a bottleneck on demanding games.

While the initial Phenom II X4 920 and 940 processors are designed specifically for Socket AM2+ and DDR2 RAM, early 2009 will bring a new set of Phenom X3 and X4 processors based on the new Socket AM3 design. These will still be compatible with Socket AM2+ and DDR2 memory, but when used on a Socket AM3 board the newer CPUs will also support DDR3 memory.

Intel's Core i7-920 was markedly faster in all but one of our tests and doesn't cost much more than the Phenom II 940. But you'll pay a lot more for the X58 motherboard and DDR3 RAM you need to support the Core i7 chip than you will for the 790GX motherboard and DDR2 RAM used by the Phenom II.

AMD's original Phenom had an identity crisis: Quad-core was only important to those concerned with CPU performance, but its performance was so far behind Intel's quad-core chips that it was hard to find a reason to choose AMD's CPU. The Phenom II X4 brings AMD back into direct price/performance competition in the midrange space as compared with similarly equipped Core 2 Quad systems, and its overclocking capabilities make it a very interesting option for enthusiasts on a budget.

Price (at time of review): $275

HP EliteBook 2530p

Processor: 1.86GHz Intel Core 2 Duo L9400Memory: 3GB RAMStorage: 80GB SSDOptical Drive: DVD+/-RWScreen: 12.1 inchesGraphics: Intel integrated GMA 4500 MHDWeight: 3.1 poundsDimensions (HWD): 1.0x11.1x8.4 inchesOperating System: Windows Vista Business

Designed to withstand the rigors of everyday travel and then some, HP’s lightweight EliteBook 2530p is packed with business-friendly features and delivers outstanding productivity performance with over five hours of battery life. Its $2,499 price tag, however, may be too steep for some.
With its brushed-aluminum lid and slender 3.1-pound frame, you wouldn’t think the 2530p is built to meet the U.S. Military specifications (MIL-STD 810F) for durability, but don’t let its sleek looks fool you; this is one tough notebook. The EliteBook is protected by HP’s magnesium alloy DuraCase chassis, which according to HP, is 18 times stiffer than the ABS plastic used on most notebooks. Additionally, the magnesium/aluminum lid is 50 percent stronger than a typical magnesium lid and is held firmly in place by a pair of reinforced hinges.
Beneath the lid sits HP’s 12.1-inch Illumi-Lite display, which uses LED backlighting as opposed to the typical CCFL (cold cathode fluorescent lamp) technology used on most notebook displays. Besides being more energy efficient and boasting a longer lifespan than their CCFL counterparts, LED screens—being mercury-free—are environmentally friendly. The 1280x800 display was bright and delivered good color reproduction and a relatively wide viewing angle, and the matte finish did a great job of reducing glare.
The 2-megapixel Webcam embedded in the screen’s upper bezel provided adequate video quality for online chatting. Although its photo image quality was certainly better than that of a 1.3-megapixel camera, it was still slightly grainy. In addition to HP’s Webcam utility, the system ships with Presto’s BizCard software, which allows you to use the camera to "scan" business cards directly into a database. The software is easy enough to use, but (as with most card-reading systems) has trouble recognizing characters from time to time, particularly while scanning small fonts. Next to the Webcam is a tiny lamp that provides just the right amount of light for working in a darkened room or on a red-eye flight.
Despite its diminutive size, the 2530p sports a full-size keyboard that is generally comfortable and responsive, but the function keys are a tad small. The keys are wear-resistant, and the keyboard uses Mylar film beneath the keys to protect against spills. Nestled into the brushed-metal wrist rest (which is also wear-resistant) are a small touchpad with two mouse buttons and a fingerprint reader. We love that HP outfitted this model with a pointing stick controller as well.
A very thin strip of illuminated touch-sensitive controls at the top of the keyboard deck lets you enable the Wi-Fi Link 5100 wireless radio and the touchpad, access the HP Presentation applet, and adjust speaker volume via the slider control. There’s also a key that opens the HP Info Center, where you can access the user guide and additional features, including HP’s 3D DriveGuard hard drive protection utility, ProtectTools Security Manager, and Wireless Assistant utility.
Business and security features are plentiful. In addition to an embedded TPM solution and the fingerprint scanner, HP’s ProtectTools provides total hard drive encryption for added security in the event that the notebook is lost or stolen. FileSanitizer, a neat utility that permanently deletes folders and files, is also part of the ProtectTools suite. Disk Sanitizer, a BIOS-based utility, will overwrite the entire hard drive (up to seven passes), so you can rest assured that sensitive data will not fall into the wrong hands when it comes time to reallocate or retire the system.
HP’s QuickLook 2 is a neat little time saver that lets you access Outlook e-mail and view calendar and contact information without having to boot into Windows. Other handy programs include HP’s SpareKey utility, which lets you use clues to log in to Windows if you happen to forget your password; and Credential Manager, which adds an extra layer of security by consolidating and encrypting all your network and user passwords into a single identity file, so you can access multiple Websites, networks, and applications with one password.
The 2530p is powered by a low-voltage Core 2 Duo L9400 processor running at 1.86GHz, 3GB of RAM, and Intel’s integrated GMA 4500MHD graphics engine. This model comes with an 80GB solid state drive (SSD), which helps boost performance while conserving battery life, plus an integrated DVD burner—a rarity among 12-inch notebooks. Connectivity ports include two USB and one FireWire port, a docking station connector, a VGA output, two audio (headphone and microphone) jacks, and Ethernet and modem jacks. ExpressCard/54 and Secure Digital slots are located on the right side of the chassis.
Despite its low-voltage processor, the 2530p performed quite well on FutureMark’s PCMark Vantage productivity benchmark test. Its score of 4,380 bested the Acer TravelMate 6293 and Lenovo’s ThinkPad X200 by more than 1,100 points, and even topped the Toshiba Tecra R10 by 810 points, which is doubly impressive, since the R10 is a larger system. Windows Media and iTunes encoding scores were also good, but lagged behind the Tecra by a small margin. Similarly, the 2530p's Cinebench 10 score of 3,745 came in behind the Acer, Lenovo, and Toshiba scores but is still on target for notebooks in this class.
Graphics performance was pretty much what we expected from an ultraportable system powered by an integrated GPU. The 2530p was unable to run FutureMark’s 3DMark Vantage benchmark, but its 3DMark06 score of 765 (running at 1280x800) shows that this system is not meant for gaming. It is, however, meant for untethered computing, lasting a healthy 5 hours and 3 minutes on our DVD battery rundown test, which means you can expect even longer battery life while running basic productivity applications. Better yet, HP claims a 50-percent increase in battery life with its 9-cell battery, a $129 option. HP covers the EliteBook with a three-year warranty that includes 24/7 technical support, but the battery is covered for only one year.
The HP EliteBook 2530p may cost more than most business-class notebooks (about $1,000 more than the Tecra R10, in fact), but its sturdy, travel-friendly design, solid performance, and numerous business-centric features put it in a class by itself. All things considered, we think it’s worth every penny. Price (at time of review): $2,499

author : John R Delaney

Dell XPS 625

Processor: 3GHz Phenom II X4 940Memory: 4GB DDR2Storage: 500GB hard driveOptical Drives: DVD±RWMonitor: NoneGraphics: ATI Radeon HD 4850 (512MB)Operating System: Windows Vista Home Premium (64-bit)

Over the past year, modest gamers' dreams of a $1,500 system primed for the latest 3D titles have become a reality. Dell ushered in the era last spring with its XPS 630, which brought enthusiast flash into the mainstream market at a reasonable price. So although Dell isn't breaking much new ground with its XPS 625 desktop, which is based on AMD (rather than Intel) CPUs such as the new Phenom II X4 940 Black Edition, the company is at least trying to rethink last year's good idea for a slightly different era.
Even with an unlocked multiplier for easier overclocking, however, the Phenom II doesn't quite stack up to Intel's high-powered, low-cost next-generation processor, the Core i7-920; you won't get the same performance from AMD in every area. One of the major standouts of the midrange field we've seen lately was Gateway's FX6800-01e, which cost considerably less than our XPS 625 test unit ($1,269 versus $1,499) and in many cases delivered better performance. That system seemed a bit more of a game-changer than the Dell, even if there's nothing intensely wrong with the XPS 625's playbook.
And there remains quite a bit to like about Dell's everyday-gaming box. The suave, angular case looks efficient and imposing but also primed for fun. (Dell has incorporated its AlienFX lighting scheme into the case, too, letting you use software to adjust colored illumination, just as you can in this system's big cousin, the XPS 730x.) You'll find a fair amount of expandability inside: two available external drive bays (one 5.25-inch, one 3.5-inch), three internal hard-drive bays, and expansion slots, including one PCI Express (PCIe) x16, one PCIe x8, one PCIe x1, and two regular PCI slots. There are also decent connectivity options outside: a FireWire port, two USB ports, and headphone and microphone jacks on the front panel' as well as six-channel digital audio, Ethernet, six USB, FireWire, external SATA (eSATA), and two PS/2 ports on the rear panel.
There's also a thoughtful selection of additional components, of course, to help you scratch your gaming (and, if necessary, productivity) itches. Our review unit came with 4GB of DDR2 RAM, a 500GB hard drive, a DVD±RW drive, an ATI Radeon HD 4850 for the graphics, and the expected 64-bit version of Windows Vista Home Premium. Configurations begin at $999, and lots of options are available, so you'll almost always be able to put together a system that matches your budget and your desires.
Our test configuration performed impressively, pulling down an 11,781 in the 64-bit version of the Cinebench 10 rendering test and earning a 5,650 in the 64-bit version of Futuremark's PCMark Vantage full-system benchmark. It also completed our Windows Media Encoder (WME) trial in 3 minutes and 20 seconds and our iTunes conversion test in 3 minutes and 22 seconds. The Gateway FX6800-01e scored a higher 14,160 in Cinebench and 6,279 in PCMark Vantage, but it also needed longer for WME (3 minutes and 36 seconds) and iTunes (3 minutes and 42 seconds).
In our actual gaming tests, the XPS 625 managed 150.3 frames per second in our DirectX 9 (DX9) Company of Heroes test at 1,280x1,024 resolution, compared with the Gateway's 163.1fps; at 1,600x1,200 the two systems were basically tied (102.3 fps for the Dell and 99.1fps for the Gateway); and at 2,560x1,600 the Gateway pulled ahead (53.1fps to the Dell's 44.5fps). The Gateway also surpassed the Dell in the Entry and Performance presets of our Futuremark 3DMark Vantage test, with scores of 21,903 and 7,112 (versus 19,051 and 7,053), but the Dell came out ahead in the Extreme preset test with 2,888 as opposed to the Gateway's 2,416. In our DX10 gaming tests of Company of Heroes and Call of Juarez, the two machines traded superior scores but were evenly matched in almost every case.
All these results are unquestionably acceptable; you can definitely do better, but you will have to shell out increasingly large sums of cash. Between these two systems, we'd rate the Gateway an overall better value, but if flash is important to you, the XPS 625 rates a bit higher on the bling-o-meter. We wouldn't mind a bit more oomph from the Dell, given its higher price, but you're still getting some handsome gaming performance from an attractive PC that you don't need to be exorbitantly wealthy to afford.Price (at time of review): $1,499.99

author : Matthew Murray

Cyberpower Gamer Xtreme XE

Processor: 2.93GHz Core i7-940 (overclocked to 3.6GHz)Memory: 3GB DDR3Storage: Two 150GB hard drives (RAID Level 0); one 1TB hard driveOptical Drives: Blu-ray burner; DVD±RWMonitor: NoneGraphics: Two Nvidia GTX 295 graphics cards (1GB each, Quad SLI)Operating System: Windows Vista Home Premium (64-bit)

One of the unexpected benefits of Intel's new line of Core i7 processors is that the lower-cost chips let you save money that can be used for other components, such as graphics cards, for example. Because Cyberpower's screaming new Gamer Xtreme XE desktop uses only the $562 Core i7-940 CPU (albeit overclocked from 2.93GHz to 3.6GHz), the middle member of the Core i7 family, it packs in two of Nvidia's insanely powerful new GTX 295 graphics cards (operating in Quad SLI mode) and still comes in at a price of only $2,999. That makes it not only the most powerful Core i7 desktop we've seen for the money, it also gets 2009's performance desktops off to an impressively (and unusually) value-oriented start.
The case, a Cooler Master Sniper, is sturdy and spacious, offering lots of room to work and expand without the bloat you sometimes see in go-for-broke power machines. An external fan-control dial on the top panel—which also organizes the oversize power button, an external SATA (eSATA) port, four USB ports, a FireWire port, and headphone and microphone jacks—lets you maintain your own desired balance between cooling and noise for the 120mm fan that expels excess heat via the case's ceiling. A completely internal Asetek liquid-cooling system blows heat from the CPU out the back of the case.
In addition to the CPU and graphics cards, which are plugged into an Asus P6T motherboard, the Gamer Xtreme XE also has three hard drives (two 150GB Western Digital Velociraptors in a RAID Level 0 configuration for Windows and programs and a 1TB storage drive), three 1GB sticks of DDR3 RAM for full triple-channel performance, two optical drives (a DVD±RW and a Blu-ray burner), a 12-in-1 card reader on the front panel, and a 1,000-watt Thermaltake Toughpower PSU that provides the juice for all this. Two internal hard drive bays, two external 5.25-inch drive bays, and three RAM slots are free for future expansion. The operating system is the de rigueur Windows Vista Home Premium (64-bit), and you also get a copy of Far Cry 2 thrown in.
You might want to start installing that sooner rather than later, because as soon as you see what the Gamer Xtreme XE can do you won't want to waste a moment. Even expecting tremendous results because of the graphics cards, we were stunned by some of the numbers this rig pulled in on our benchmark tests. While it lagged just behind the Maingear F131 in our overall productivity tests (unquestionably owing to that system's even faster Core i7-965 Extreme Edition processor), the Gamer Xtreme XE pegged nearly every game we threw at it, right up to the highest resolutions. Okay, okay, so it only produced 370.1 frames per second (fps) in our DirectX 9 (DX9) Company of Heroes test at a resolution of 1,280x1,024, and the Maingear managed 409.7. The Gamer Xtreme XE's scores of 342.6fps and 287.8fps at 1,600x1,200 and 2,560x1,600, respectively, were way ahead of the F131's 263.7fps and 161.7fps.
These capabilities don't dissolve when DX10 comes into the picture, either. On Futuremark 3DMark Vantage, the Cyberpower turned in astounding scores of 75,261, 32,222, 24,169, and 16,714 on the Entry, Performance, High, and Extreme presets, respectively—in every case the highest we've seen, and towering over the Maingear's still impressive results of 43,335, 22,840, 16,998, and 12,915. Numbers were similarly smoking in Company of Heroes, World in Conflict (51fps, 30fps, and 24fps at 1,280x1,024, 1,600x1,200, and 2,560x1,600, respectively), and Call of Juarez (38.5fps, 32.1fps, and 31fps at 1,280x1,024, 1,600x1,200, and 1,920x1,200)—though both the Dell XPS 730x and Maingear's own liquid-cooled X-Cube edged the Gamer Xtreme XE out in certain tests in that game by the tiniest of margins.
About all you don't get with the Gamer Xtreme XE is a monitor, something you do get with iBuypower's flagship Core i7 machine, the $2,499 Gamer Paladin F870-SB. And Maingear's F131 might be a bit more cutting-edge creative in some ways—such as its use of a solid-state drive for an added speed boost—but it costs nearly $3,000 more than the Gamer Xtreme XE. Even if you do have to shell out for a display, the Cyberpower's prowess in practically every area could make the outlay into an investment if you want the most powerful system out there and you want it now.Price (at time of review): $2,999

author : Matthew Murray

Lian Li designs case inspired by Dubai

Lian Li has found inspiration in Dubai when designing its latest PC-888 case, the shape of this tower case is very similar to that of the Burj al Arab hotel, which decorates both the coastal area and skyline of the city. Lian Li's case has a blue finish and features a window sidepanel. The special PC-888 will be presented during the CES.

Due to the case's odd shape, it has several compartments for the different parts. The bottom of the case has room for the motherboard and all components installed on it. The special brackets are made for the hard disks and the power supply. Optical drives are placed in the top of the case, leaving room for fans below them. Cable management has also been thought of and there's plenty of room available for a watercooling installation.

Lian Li's PC-888 does not yet have a pricetag, but will be available shortly.

MSI's Eclipse Plus X58 motherboard

MSI will soon release a more luxurious version of its 'Eclipse' X58 motherboar, branded Eclipse Plus. Unlike most manufacturers, MSI has chosen to use nVidia's NF200 switchchip on this board, which is required for SLI. As of yet, SLI is already implemented through a software certification of the X58 boards, but the NF200 chip is able to process extra PCI-Express lanes. ASUS also used the NF200 chip to build a motherboard featuring six PCI-e slots.

The MSI Eclipse Plus has a black circuit board with blue- and black-colored connectors. The board features a total of six DDR3 memory slots and a stunning 10 SATA ports. Also present are four PCI-Express x16 slots, two PCI-Express x1 slots and an old-fashioned PCI slot. MSI proudly displays that the board is part of its Gaming Series by labeling the cooling blocks. The usage of the advanced DrMos technology is also depicted on the board.

The right bottom of MSI's revised motherboard features a small display for diagnostics, as well as some buttons that are handy for overclockers. The status information can also be found on the back of the motherboard and reset with the CMOS button when required.

MSI's Eclipse Plus also features all standard functions such as USB and FireWire headers, 2x Gigabit LAN, 8x USB, 2x eSATA and a FireWire port. Audio connectors are not present on the board, which makes it likely for MSI to bundle a seperate PCI-Express soundcard. Pricing and availability is still unknown.

author : Marc Mouthaan

Conceptronic presents CFULLHDMA successor

The Full HD Media player (CFULLHDMA) manufactured by Conceptronics will soon be followed up by the company's new CFULLHDMAi. Though the product appears to be the same on the outside, several features have been added such as SAMBA server support, a BitTorrent download client and compatibility with Conceptronic's Wireless 300 MBps 11n USB adaptor.

Like its predecessor, the CFULLHDMAi functions as a personal bridge to stream digital media files to a TV and/or home cinema set in a Full HD resolution (1080p). The integrated UPnP AV media client allows access to all files that are contained in compatible storage devices. The SAMBA/NFS client provides direct access to shared network folders.

The CFULLHDMAi has no integrated hard disk, but thanks to the USB connector on the rear, it's easy to connect one to the device. This function was also present on the CFULLHDMA, but did not yet have the SAMBA server expansion.

With the latest firmware, both the CFULLHDMA and CFULLHDMAi can be made compatible with Conceptronic's C300RU, a 300Mbps 11n USB adaptor which makes wireless media streaming possible. To optimize the performance of Full HD films, it is required that you use an 11n router or work on a computer with an 11n client.

Features:

• Plays back all popular media formats such as: XviD, WMV9, MOV, MKV, H.264, VC-1, MPEG 1/2/4, JPEG, MP3, WMA, AVI, SVCD, VCD, ISO, IFO (DVD-navigation), VOB and subtitles
• Supports up to Full HD (1080p) resolutions
• Gigabit LAN connector (supports all 10/100 Mbps/Gigabit networks
• Userfriendly menu
  
• HDMI and component video-output and coaxial digital sound output (S/PDIF).
• Comes with all required cabling, a stand and a remote control
• Samba server
• Samba client
• NFS client
• BitTorrent download client
• Stream wirelessly with Conceptronic's 300 Mbps 11n wireless USB adaptor (C300RU)*
• UPnP AV-compatible to support multiple media servers
• Includes gold-plated 3m HDMI-cable

*The C300RU is sold seperately.

author : Marc Mouthaan

New LaCie DVD burner with FireWire and USB

LaCie introduces a new external DVD-burner. The product features a USB 2.0 and a FireWire-conntector. It writes DVD- and DVD+ media at speeds of 22x. LaCie has also implemented the LightScribe technology, which makes it possible to print labels on the discs. This does require special coated discs in combination with the right software.

LaCie bundles the Toast 9 Basic software (Mac OS X 10.4 and newer), as well as the Easy Media Creator Suite 10 with LightScribe Labeler for Windows. Mac Users will be able to use the company's LightScribe Labeler, which is suited for Mac OS X 3.9 and more recent versions. The users of a Linux-based operating system are able to download LaCie's LightScribe Labeler freely, the software supports four popular Linux-versions (Ubuntu, Fedora, SuSE and Mandriva).

LaCie's d2 dvd±rw 22x with LightScribe bears a recommended price of 109 euro for the USB/FireWire version, and 89 euro for the model with just the USB-connector.

author : Marc Mouthaan

Barracuda 7200.12 has 500 GB platters

Seagate has announced the Barracuda 7200.12 hard disks, a series of 3.5 inch drives that will bring the company's new 500 GB platters to the consumer.

These new Barracuda's feature a data density of 329 GB per square inch. Theoretically, this means that the disks will perform better whilst consuming less energy. Seagate claims a writing speed of 160 Megabyte/sec on the 1 TB SATA2 hard disk.

The Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 line will also get a 750 and 500 GB model. These will feature 32 or 16 MB of cache memory. All new Seagate hard disks have a three-year warranty.

author : Marc Mouthaan

PQI reports that it will show its entire line of solid-state products during the CES 2009, later this week. There will be four new solid-state disks: the 1.8-inch microSATA SSD S518, 2.5-inch SATA2 SSD S525, the Express Card SSD S520 and lastly, the eSATA Combo Card S530.

PQI's S518 and S525 will feature a maximum storage capacity of 128 GB. The S518 is intended for netbooks and small laptops, while the bigger S525 will be used in regular notebooks and desktop computers. Both SSD's use multi-level cell (MLC) chips. The reading and writing speeds for the 2.5 inch version are specified at respectively 150 Mbyte/s and 90 Mbyte/s.

author : Marc Mothaan

11.6 and 13.3 inch netbooks upcoming?

Initially, HP had an 11.6-inch netbook planned for the end of 2008. Due to the effects of the credit crunch however, the company postponed this release until the first half of this year. Acer has also reported to be working on an 11.6-inch netbook, which is to be released in the 2nd half of 2009. Digitimes posts that Acer has already ordered its 11.6-inch panels at AU Optronics. The 11.6 inch netbooks are to fill in the gap between the 10-inch and 12.1-inch netbooks. Both companies have also made plans for a 13.3-inch model, which is likely to be announced later this year.
HP expects to sell over a million 11.6-inch and 2 up to 2.6 million 13.3-inch netbooks this year. Acer's expectations are far less, respectively 200.000 and 900.000 for the 11.6-inch and 13.3-inch models. Despite the fact that the netbook market is growing rapidly, the majority of mainstream notebooks will still be 15.6-inch for this year.

author : Marc Mouthaan

MSI Media Live Diva HTPC motherboard

MSI just released their latest HTPC Motherboard, the Media Live Diva. The board feautures a unique enhancement in the form of an intelligent digital amplifier, the D2 Audio DAE3. This expansion produces purely digital sound and supports THX, and because of the optional 5.1 or 7.1 add in card does not take up a lot of space in the media PC or generate a lot of heat.

Apart from the new sound solution the Media Diva sports DMI, VGA, RGB Component out, SPDIF in and out, Firewire, USB 2.0 and Gigabit ethernet. Graphics are provided by ATI's Radeon 3200 chipset paired with the AMD 780M southbridge. All AMD socket AM2 and AM3 processors are supported up to the latest Phenom X4 quadcore processor. For more information about the board please visit the MSI product page.

The Media Diva will be available as both a 5.1 package as well as a 7.1 package, boards can be found in stores as from today. Recommended retail prices are around US$ 159 for the 5.1 package and US$ 169 for the 7.1 solution.

author : Martin Birjs

ASUS Xonar HDAV1.3 with Dolby TrueHD

Last year's Computex showed us an ASUS Xonar HDAV soundcard. ASUS claims that this Xonar HDAV 1.3 is the first soundcard to process Dolby TrueHD bitstream, making it the perfect soundcard for an HTPC with a Blu-ray player.
ASUS reports that this Xonar is equipped with a C-Media AV200 soundchip and comes bundled with the ArcSoft TotalMedia Theatre software package. This comvbination allows users to enjoy DTS-HD Master Audio, Dolby Digital Plus and the Dolby TrueHD audio bitstream. To realize this all, C-Media has also implemented the Protected Audio Playback System (PAPS) in its chip.

The soundcard supports most graphics cards, making it possible to send both video- and audio-signals through a single HDMI-cable. The ASUS Xonar HDAV 1.3 will be available in a standard and a deluxe version. The latter is also able to put out analog 7.1-audio through a seperate card.

author : Marc Mouthaan

VIA Nano dual core processor

Tech Connect Magazine reports that VIA is working on an Intel Atom competitor. A post has appeared on a Chinese website which talks about a very efficient dual core processor, called the VIA Nano 3000.

It's rumored that the chip will be produced on the Fujitsu 45nm process, but a 40nm version is also possible. The processor is likely to feature the SSE4-intruction set as well. Apart from this dual core processor, VIA would also be working on multiple other single core CPUs to expand its line-up.

It is clear that both the Intel Atom 230 and 330, as well as AMD's Conesus, will have a new competitor in the netbook market.

Iomega StorCenter ix2

Capacity: 1TB
Interface: Gigabit Ethernet; USB
Spin Rate: 7,200rpm
Dimensions (HWD): 4.9x4.9x7.9 inches
Weight: 4.9 pounds

Designed for small networks, the 1TB Iomega StorCenter ix2 ($299.99) offers built-in RAID and some nice security features in a compact device, and it’s a snap to install. Its write performance is less than stellar, however, and the drives are not user-replaceable.

On the outside, there’s nothing fancy about the ix2. A plain, dark gray case measuring 4.9x3.2x7.9 inches (HWD) sports a blue power light on the front that also serves as a drive activity light. A secondary light blinks red when you use the Blink function to identify the device (in cases where more than one device is installed on the network). Other than that, there are no indicators, such as those found on ZyXel’s NSA220, to tell you what is going on with each individual drive or if the network connection is experiencing a problem. Around back are a Gigabit Ethernet port, the power jack, a reset switch, and two USB ports for connecting peripherals such as printers, cameras, and external storage devices. While it’s nice to have USB connectivity, the ports would be much more useful if they were mounted on the front, for easy access. The ix2 supports DLNA (Digital Living Network Alliance) and UPnP (Universal Plug and Play) devices and can upload data from Bluetooth devices, too.

Inside the tiny case are two Seagate 500GB drives spinning at 7,200 rpm and a small cooling fan (a 2TB version of the ix2 is available for $479.99). The ix2 is a sealed unit and as such is not meant to be opened by anyone other than an authorized Iomega technician; if a drive goes bad, you have to ship it off to the factory for repair rather than replace it yourself. The drives are configured for RAID Level 1 mirroring at the factory, which means you only get 438GB of total storage, but you can reconfigure them for RAID Level 0 if you prefer more capacity—though you'll run the risk of losing data if one drive goes down. In addition to RAID, the ix2 offers built-in encryption protection via RSA’s BSAFE virus encryption technology.

Installing the ix2 is a breeze. We hooked the device up to our DHCP-enabled router using the included Ethernet cable, powered it up, and ran the Solutions CD, which installs the StorCenter Manager application and EMC Retrospect backup software. Within minutes the software scanned our network and found the ix2, which was assigned an IP address by the router and added to the Windows My Network Places group. During the initial setup you can create an administrator username and password, select a name for the ix2, and provide an e-mail address for alerts.

You can access StorCenter Manager by clicking on the icon in My Network Places or by entering the ix2’s IP address in your browser. The user interface is very straightforward and easy to navigate and is broken down into five tabbed pages to help you manage the device. The Home page contains a hotkey that launches the Retrospect backup and restore program, a fairly intuitive application that automatically backs up your entire drive or specific files, folders, and drives and creates a restore point for easy retrieval. This page also has a file search function and lets you set up user accounts and create shared folders, which you can also do via the User and Shared Folder pages.

The Dashboard displays drive statistics such as free, used, and total drive space, and you can check the status of backup operations and attached peripherals at a glance. Finally, the Settings page is where you set the time and date, create groups, set up network services such as FTP, SNMP, and Windows File Sharing, and configure the Media and Print server features. You can also manage the hard drives by enabling RAID and write caching, and there’s an Erase function that overwrites both drives, rendering your data virtually unrecoverable.

The ix2 runs cool and is fairly quiet, but its write performance was merely middle of the road. It needed 19 minutes and 49 seconds to write a 10GB folder containing a mixture of data and media files, which is a full 4 minutes slower than the ZyXel NSA220 but on a par with Netgear’s ReadyNAS Duo. On the plus side, it read the same folder in 12 minutes and 47 seconds, which is one of the fastest read times we’ve seen. Iomega provides a standard one-year warranty for the ix2 and offers an extended two-year plan for an additional $149.95.

The Iomega ix2 is a good choice for users seeking a small network storage device that provides media and print server capabilities, is easy to manage, and offers an impressive security feature set. We just wish it offered user-replaceable drives and a bit more feedback on the front panel.

Price (at time of review): $299.99 (Direct Price)

author : John R. Delaney

ASUS shows its first AM3 motherboards

ASUS has shown its first AM3 motherboards, It´s possible that additional boards will be revealed during the CES, later this month. The ASUS M4A78 Pro is based on AMD´s 780G chipset, the ASUS M4A79 Deluxe will use the AMD 790FX chipset.

One of the new features of AM3 is the support for DDR3-memory. A strange thing however is that ASUS has decided that both motherboards will feature DDR2-memory slots. It's possible that this decision was made to keep the entry price of the AM3 platform at a minimum. At this point, DDR2 is quite cheap, whereas DDR3-memory is still fairly expensive.

The M4A78 Pro features one PCI-E 2.0 x16 slot, DVI, HDMI, D-sub, six SATA-ports and an IDE-connector. The motherboard supports up to 12 USB 2.0 ports and also has 7.1 HD audio and Gbit LAN.

The M4A79 Deluxe has a whopping four PCI-E 2.0 x16 slots, an eSATA connector and five internal SATA-connectors. This board also features the 7.1 HD audio, Gbit LAN and 12 USB 2.0 port functionality. It also has onboard Power and Reset-buttons, as well as the so-called ASUS Express Gate, which is onboard NAND-flashmemory with a stripped Linux system on it. This feature allows users to boot into the Linux operating system very quickly, for example to check email or launch a webbrowser.

Neither of the motherboards has a pricetag yet.

author : marck Mouthaan

Mushkin 4GB DDR2 memory kit with gold

Muskin bundles two 2GB memory modules with golden contact feet in the 996580X2 DDR2-memory kit. In combination with the black eight-layer PCB, the company claims that the modules will not only perform better, but are also more efficient and feature a longer lifetime than regular ones. Despite the usage of gold, Mushkin claims that the price of the DDR2-kit will not be ridiculously high and that it will offer a great price/performance-ratio.
The 996580X2 kit will be positioned in the eXtreme Performance line-up and will have clock frequencies of 800 MHz. The modules will have latencies of 4-4-4-12 at a voltage of 2.0 to 2.1V. It's expected that the kit will become available in January. Prices are still unknown.

HP TouchSmart tx2z

Processor: 2.4GHz AMD Turion X2 Ultra Dual-Core Mobile Processor ZM-86
Memory: 3GB RAM
Storage: 320GB hard drive
Optical Drive: DVD±RW
Screen: 12.1 inches
Graphics: ATI Radeon HD 3200 integrated graphics
Weight: 4.6 pounds
Dimensions (HWD): : 1.3x12.0x8.8 inches
Operating System: Windows Vista Home Premium

For the all-new HP TouchSmart tx2z convertible tablet PC, HP has employed the TouchSmart family name from its all-in-one desktop PCs—along with that line’s slick touch screen capabilities. In the past, we’ve been hard-pressed to recommend a higher-priced convertible over a traditional laptop to all but the handful of consumers who appreciate (and would actually use) the tablet functionality. But with its MediaSmart multimedia-management applications, which make brilliant use of the touch screen and the tablet form factor, the TouchSmart tx2z is a good fit for anyone who wants a multimedia-savvy ultraportable with a twist.

The TouchSmart tx2z is wrapped in a good-looking titanium Reaction Imprint finish. At 4.7 pounds, the machine is on the heavy side for a laptop that only has a 12.1-inch screen, and as a tablet it quickly gets tiresome to use in the crook of your arm. Think of it as more of an on-your-lap tablet than a walking-around tablet.

As we said in our review of the Pavilion TX2000z, the company’s previous-generation consumer tablet, HP has the convertible notebook thing down pat. The beefy hinge keeps the screen stable as you type in traditional laptop mode yet lets you easily swivel and fold the screen flat against the keyboard for use in slate mode. HP has put as many controls as is practical on the screen’s bezel and machine’s edges, including the power and Wi-Fi switches, fingerprint reader, and buttons for rotating the screen orientation and launching the Windows Mobility Center (where you can adjust the screen brightness and system volume, change performance settings, and more). When the tx2z is in tablet mode, you lose access to the dedicated volume/mute hard keys, which are placed above the function key row on the keyboard's deck. And oddly, HP did not include dedicated multimedia control keys (skip, pause, play, and so on), which have been a staple on the company’s consumer laptops for years.

That’s less of an issue, however, given all the ways you have to control system functions: with the touch pad and mouse buttons, the included stylus, or simply your finger. The tx2z incorporates HP’s multitouch technology: The capacitive touch screen supports not just simple actions like tapping on a menu or dialog box but more-complex two-finger gestures for scrolling, zooming, rotating images, and even launching applications. Leave your finger on the screen for a moment and a mouse icon appears, letting you control any Windows app, not just those that are designed to be touch-screen-aware.

Getting to the “X” button in the extreme upper corner to close an application may take a couple of jabs, but generally the touch screen is very accurate, which is a must given the panel’s relatively high (for a 12.1-inch screen) 1,280x800 resolution. But even in apps like iTunes, where the song list is quite tightly packed, the screen did a good job of correctly discerning which line we were poking at. As with other Windows tablet PCs, you also can use Tablet PC Input Panel for adding handwritten notes to an open document, converting written characters to text, and tapping out URLs and other text via the onscreen keyboard.

Best of all, HP’s MediaSmart multimedia utilities make excellent use of the touch screen’s abilities. You can launch the MediaSmart suite via a hard key on the screen bezel, and it includes tools for enjoying DVDs, music, photos, and videos. The slick, iPhone-esque interface is optimized for the gesture-enabled touch screen, so you can scroll through photos by swiping your finger or rotate them by spinning two fingers touched to the screen.

Another bonus: The touch screen technology does not detract from the display’s crisp, bright appearance. We’ve tested tablets where you can make out the digitizer overlay, but that’s not the case here. Text is sharp, colors are vibrant, and video playback is top-notch. We’re also impressed with the Altec Lansing sound system, which puts out impressively good—and impressively loud—sound for a system this size.

Our TouchSmart tx2z came with a generous 320GB hard drive (a 250GB and a whopping 400GB drive are other available options), a LightScribe-enabled 8x multiformat DVD burner, 802.11a/b/g/n and Bluetooth connectivity, a Webcam, the fingerprint reader option, an ExpressCard/34 slot, a five-format memory-card reader (SD, MMC, Memory Stick, MS Pro, and xD), and the usual connectors (three USB, VGA, Ethernet, modem, mic, and two headphone jacks).

Power comes from a 2.4GHz AMD Turion X2 Ultra Dual-Core Mobile Processor ZM-86 (the best among the four CPUs offered), 3GB of RAM (up to 8GB is supported), and the 64GB ATI Radeon HD 3200 graphics engine (the only one offered). Performance was good if you compare the TouchSmart tx2z with other 12.1-inch ultraportables, though when you consider that it’s built more like a thin-and-light machine, performance is about average compared with others in that class. We couldn’t get Futuremark's PCMark benchmarks to run to completion (HP has a ton of stuff that starts automatically at bootup, and even turning all of it off didn’t make the benchmark happy), but the machine’s Cinebench 9.5 and 10 scores of 608 and 3,571, respectively, show performance that's fine for the class.

The system needed 8 minutes and 35 seconds to complete our Windows Media Encoder 9 trial and 5 minutes and 36 seconds for our iTunes conversion test—results neither stellar nor alarming. The ATI GPU has some 3D chops, managing a score of 1,692 on Futuremark 3DMark06 and delivering a barely passable 23 frames per second (fps) on F.E.A.R. at 1,024x768 resolution. But more demanding games will be a stretch; we saw only 19.1fps on Company of Heroes at 1,024x768 and a low 10.6fps at the screen’s native 1,280x800 resolution. The eight-cell battery lasted 2 hours and 35 minutes on our DVD rundown test, which is a little below average for a thin-and-light but not enough to worry about.

The TouchSmart tx2z starts at about $1,150, and our system topped out at $1,500. That’s $250 more than HP’s similar Pavilion tx2500z series without the TouchSmart features and about $400 more than a Dell Inspiron 13, which offers no tablet abilities at all. So if you don’t think you’ll use the tablet features, this is not the machine for you. But if you like the idea of a tablet and were waiting for someone to make it more compelling, the HP TouchSmart tx2z may be just the ticket.

Price (at time of review): $1,504.99

author : Jamie Bsales